about us

The Give Something Back International Foundation (GSBI) is a non-profit educational organization . The purpose of the GSBI Foundation is to provide life-changing, quality education to children, young adults, and teachers around the world that will have a lasting impact on their future lives and that of their families. The Foundation's vision is rooted in the wisdom of the old Chinese proverb: "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life."

The Foundation was established  in 2002 as a 501(c)(3) international charitable organization in order to directly fund and support the education of disadvantaged children and young adults from primary through secondary school. We strive to accomplish this in the most effective ways possible and we ensure funds and resources are directly distributed to recipients. One of the important and unique qualities of the Foundation is that 100% of funds donated to support a specific child will only be used for the educational and support needs of that child. Funds to support the administrative needs of the foundation are raised separately from the direct grants being given to the children.

If they desire, sponsors are able to develop and maintain a long-term relationship with a sponsored children. Sponsors will know where their money is going and be able to see the benefit of their contributions on a specific child and their family. Some sponsors prefer to make contributions to the general scholarship fund that enables the Give Something Back International Foundation to award these scholarships to children in need. 

GSBI also manages the Global Virtual Classroom Program - a free, online educational program for primary and secondary school students from around the world.  The program fosters cross-cultural understanding and collaboration and provides an opportunity to learn IT and web design skills.

Give Something Back International Foundation, Inc was incorporated in the USA under the laws of the State of Florida in November 2002. It is a tax-exempt qualified public charity under section 501(c)(3) of the US-IRS Code with a Federal tax ID# 30-0125384. All contributions are tax-deductable.  


what's in a name
The name for the Give Something Back International Foundation was presented in a dream to one of our co-founders in 1994. Soon after relocation to Hong Kong for a work assignment with AT&T, he had a dream in which he was told that it was time in his life to start "giving something back". After struggling many years to understand the meaning and method for implementing this dream, and during a trip to Vietnam, he became energized with a focus on the education of disadvantaged children. However, he had difficulty in finding an organization that would assure him that one hundred percent of the donated funds would go to educate a specific child. Therefore, he decided to create the Give Something Back International Foundation as the way of implementing the message from his dream.


where we work
During the first three years of operation, the focus of the GSBI Foundation has been on educating  disadvantaged children and young adults from Vietnam and Thailand. We provide scholarships to children whose families or carers do not have the financial means to support their education.  Close contact with the children is a necessity.  Each child is visited once a year to check on their progress and to understand future needs.

In Thailand, the situation in remote hilltribe villages is such that many people are barely self-sufficient and have minimal access to anyone who can provide help.  Similar conditions exist for children living in the Mekong Delta in VietNam. These families receive little attention from the government and find it extremely difficult to escape the cycle of poverty.  The Foundation's focus is to help these children from underprivileged backgrounds.  Without financial support these children could not attend school and would have to find a job to earn a little extra money ito help their families. Orphaned children-mostly through the devestating AIDS epidemic-who are living with poor relatives-are another very vulnerable group. Providing support for learning for a specific occupation helps prepare these children for a future where they can support themselves and their families.


educational adoptions
You can help change the life of a child and their family by a being a sponsor. We call this our "Education Adoption" program because it is like adopting a child and providing for their educational needs as if they are one of your own. We take only disadvanted children that need your help to be able to go to school. We provide whatever is needed to get the child in school and help them stay there until they complete their education. Most countries provide free primary school education up to grade 6 or 7. However, many children and their families cannot afford to attend tuition free schools because of the cost of books, uniforms, lunches, transporation, etc.

We work with existing in-country organizations to help identify and provide the funds for whatever is needed for the child to be able to attend school. Once you select a child, our expectation is that you will be a sponsor of that child for the number of years shown in the profile. It is not good for the children or their families to attend school one year and not be able to attend school the next because of the loss of funding. Each profile will indicate the number of years and the annual cost for your sponsorship. Once you make a selection of a child, we know you will treat them as one of your own.

Since most school years begin in August or September, we will need to know about your selection, commitment and have your annual contribution before the end of July of each year.

Thanks for your support and sponsorship.


annual objectives